ATLANTA _ North Carolina entered the Georgia Dome on Saturday seeking a program-changing, momentum-building victory _ the kind the Tar Heels used as a catalyst to become a national contender during the mid-1990s. The Tar Heels left instead with frustration and an opportunity lost.
Amid a torrent of fourth-quarter penalties and defensive breakdowns, No. 22 UNC endured a humbling 33-24 defeat against No. 18 Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff. The Tar Heels' run defense faltered, again, and penalties in key moments first hurt their ability to hold a lead and then ruined their chance to regain it.
The loss was similar in style, though perhaps not substance, to UNC's sloppy season-opening defeat against South Carolina at the start of last season. In that one, turnovers doomed the Tar Heels. In this one, it was penalties and a familiar inability to stop the run.
The Tar Heels committed 13 penalties for 101 yards. Pass-interference penalties allowed Georgia to cut into UNC's lead in the third quarter and then led to a UNC safety early in the fourth.
Needing a mistake-free drive to reclaim the lead late in the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels committed another penalty _ offensive pass interference _ that negated a first down. In addition to the penalties, UNC simply couldn't stop _ or often slow down _ Georgia's Nick Chubb, who ran for 222 yards and two touchdowns, the second of which was a 55-yarder that pretty much put it away late in the game.
A victory could have signaled UNC's arrival on a national stage, in much the same way that a 1993 season-opening victory against USC did. The Tar Heels had been anticipating this game for months, and players and coaches knew what was at stake and how much a win might have meant.
The Tar Heels still haven't beaten an FBS team in a season-opener since 2000 (Tulsa). Their last victory season-opening victory against a Power 5 opponent came in 1997, against Indiana.
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